Automatic flag raising and lowering device



F. ZIPOY. AUTOMATIC FLAG RAISING AND LOWERING DEVICE.

APPLICATION F'ILED MAR. 8, I919- Mar. 29 1 3 SHEEIS-SHEET WITNESSES.

M 2/ Tia/2h" Zz'pay, WW 8,

INVENTOR ATTORNEY F. ZIPOY.

AUTOMATIC FLAG RAISING AND LOWERING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED MAELB. 1919.

1,373,376. Patented Mar. 29, 1921.

3 SHEETSSHEE'| 2.

WITNESSES. INVENTOR Z a gg 0' f l FMS/ 2" Zz'pay ATTORNEY F. ZIPOY. AUTOMATIC FLAG RAISING AND LOWERING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. H, 1919- 1,373,376. I Patented Mar- 29, .1921.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

e r This invention relates to means UNITED STATES" PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK ZIPOY, 0F MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA.

AUTOMATIC FLAG RAISING AND LOWERING DEVICE.

- Application filed March 8,

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK Zrror, a citizen of the United States residing at Minneapolis, in the county of i-Iennepin and State of Minnesota, have invented new and useful Improvements in Automatic Flag Raising and Lowering Devices, of which the following is a specification. V

for automatically raising or lowering a flag at pre determined times, so that the services of an attendant will not be required for that purpose and the danger of leaving the flag in raised position after dark avoided.

Another object is to provide means for automatically lowering the flag in inclement ;weather so that the life of the flag will be prolonged and the latter will retain its fresh; appearance in color for an indefinite period. v

With the above and other objects in view, the invention includes a time switch or clock mechanism, which is included in the circuit in which is also included a reversing switch and a time limit relay, the latter closing the same so as to operate a motor, which in turn operates the flag raising mechanism.

One of the novel features of the invention resides in the means for automatically closing the motor circuit in the event of rain or snow, so that the flag will be lowered and protected against becoming wet. Other novel features of the invention will appear'from the following description when read in connection with the accompanying drawings r In the drawings Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the application of the invention.

7 Fig. 2 is an'enlarged view of the disconnecting relay and I Fig. 3 is a detail oi: the reversing switch.

Fig. 4 is a detailed front view of the large disk of the'reversing switch. I

Fig. 5 is a similar view ofthe small disk.

Fig. 6 is a" plan view of the disks shown in Fig.4, looking at the opposite side of said disks. Fig. 7 is a fragmentary edge view-of the contact segments and the end of the armature of the disk connecting relay.

Fig. 8 is a diagrammatic view of the reversing sw tch circuit showing the switch in position just. prior to raising the flag.

Fig. 9 is a view of the circuits just after the flag has been raised;

Fig. lO shows a diagrammatic view of the Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Hal. 29, 19.21. 1919. Serial No. 281,565. I

(f lircuits five minutes after the raising of the Fig. 11 is a view of the circuits immediately after the flag has been lowered.

Fig. 12 is an enlarged sectional view through the brush locking mechanism.

Referring in detail to the drawings, the invention is shown as housed beneath the roof of a building, this roof being indicated at 10. Mounted upon the roof is a flag pole 11, which supports at its top a pulley 12.

The flag halyard 13 passes around the pulley and through tubular guides 14 and 15 arranged transversely to the roof where it is wound upon a drum 16. The flag 17 is secured to the halyard and secured to halyard immediately above the fiag is a covering 18 which is adapted to close the top of the tubular guide 14 when the flag is lowered and to prevent the entrance of rain or moisture therein.

The drum. 16 'is adapted to be automatically operated to raise or lower the flag and for this purpose there is provided an electric motor 19, which is connected to the drum through the medium of suitable reducing gearing 20.

The motor is operated from a suitable source of power herein shown as a battery 21 and one terminal of this battery is connected through the medium of a conductor 22 with one terminal 23 oi a clock 24, the

hands of which are adapted to operate to close the circuit. The current passes through the clock and through a conductor 25 connected to the other clock terminals 26 and thence to the armature 27 of a disconnecting relay, which is designated in its entirety by the numeral 28. The current then passes through a conductor 29 to a reversing switch 30, the conductor 29 being connected to a I contact 31 upon one side of the switch, wherein it passes through a bus bar 32 to the opposite contact The contact 33 is motor to rotate the drum ina direction to raise the fiag.

Should the clock 24 be setto operate to 'raise the flag at 8 a. n1; 3:05 the clock will close the contacts so to operate the reversing switch and placevthe latter in a 5 position to operate the motor in a reverse direction to lower tional brushes 46 ride on. the slip ring so to furnish the current through the armature. The reversing switch is operated by a magnet 48, which s connected to a conductor 49 bridged across the conductors 36 and 3'7, this magnet operating a shaft 50' upon which the disks l2 and L3 are mounted. 25 The brushes 45 are located at the ends of the conductors 38 and 41, while the brushes 46 are located at the ends of the conductors 39and 40, the latter as stated engaging the .slit ring a l while the former alternately 30. engage the segments of the disk 4L2, the said .segments being indicated at 42 The seg- "ments andslit rings are connected by wires 7 42 as shown in Fig. 6 of the drawings and when the disk 42 is'rotated' approxima lv ;.180 degrees, the poles of the motor will be "reversed. and consequently its direction of -IOt21t1OIl reversed. The disk 433 which 'carn-ries a contact 43 is operated simultaneously with the disk 42 and its contact is always disposedlongitudinally of the busbar 32.

in orderto lower the flag in the event of rain: or snow, there is provided a recep-. tacle 51, which is open at the topand -;mou'nted upon the root end. In, the bottom 45'05 this receptacle is a pair of contacts 52' and slightly spaced apart-and adapted to be bridged by the collection of moisture -.within the receptacle 51. Owing {tothe col- ;ilection of dust or;0ther extraneous matter .within'the receptacle 51, the moisture col-' .lected therein will become a conductor for the passage of current between the contacts -52 and 53. The contact 52 is connected through, the medium of the conductorxfi 551 with, a magnet 55 of the disconnecting relay" 28. This magnet is connected by-means of conductor'fifi, with a brush 57 mounted i upon the end of the armature 27. The brush 57 operates over a segmental contactplate 60158. to which the contact 31 is connected;

When the magnet 55 is energized through completlon' of the circuit by the-moisture bridging the space between'the contacts 52 and '53 current will flow fromthe battery J the same at a predeter- 'inined t1me 1n the evening, as tor example 21, through the conductor 56; the magnet 55, 'tliec'onductor 54:, the contacts 52 and 53,

the conductor 59 the brush and brush bar 'ofvthereversing:switch 30 to the shaft 50. g

and througlrthe conductor baclr'to the other side of the battery. The magnet when thus energized will attract the armature 27 and the brush 5'? v will be moved alongthe segmental contacts 58 to close the clock cir-' cuit and operate the reversing switch relay .30 and the time limit relay 35 thereby caus the motor to operate to lower the flag. ii hen thebrush 57 has reached the top of the insulated portion of the segmental conc act plate 58, the brush is locked. by the i which slips into a slot in the brush 57 so that the latterwillTnot ride upon the segmental, contact plate 58 .upon the return closing the circuit and further operation of the reversing'switch. The brush 5? is connectedito the conductor 56 and: thesegment 58 is connected to the conductor 29.

movement ot' the armature thus areventin brush 5'? and-the; segment58 act to close fthfi same circuit in which23 and 26 are included. Thesegment 58 isconnected to the cionductor 29 and when the clock contacts -are closed the current will pass. through the conductor 29 without passingthrou'gh the 7 armature 21.

WVhen in its attracted position, the arma tn-re 2. will be loclredth-rough the medium of a latch 63 Wl11Cl'1f 1S;Op6I'21tCltO release said armature throu 'h'ama net 6%. hence this magnet-is connected through the me dium of aconductor65, with a contact 66, .tnrough which current passesinto. the switch 30 to the small disk 43 and through tl Gl3llSl)Et1b5l Cl to the battery 21.; V

Assumingthe reversing switch to be in the positionshown in Fig. 8;. when the contacts23 and 26 of the clockyare' closed,. cur- :rent will flow-from the battery'21 through the conductor 22 to the contacts 23 and 26,

the conductor 25., the armature 27 to. Contact 66 of the disk connecting relay: then through: conductor 68. and magnet 48 and back through the battery. The current also passes fromconductor 68 through the con-1' tact 31 and through the bus bar32 whichis .linsulated from th shaft, contact 33 through' conductor 36 to magnet 43 and through conductor 37 to the battery. The current flow-" qin'g in-this manner willoperate' the -reversing switch; and the time limit relay which latter willbe moved-to theiposition shown in Fig. 9 and thisisthe position of the reversing switch after the flag has been raised.

Five minutes after the raising of the flag.

the clock 24: will again close the circuit throng-h the; contacts 23 and'26 and current will flow from the battery rthrough these contacts in the manner; just described.

- Shouldthe contact 52 and'53- beclosed by moisture while the flag is in raised position, current will flow from the battery through the conductor 56, the magnet 55, the conductor -1 through the contacts 52 and 53 to the contact of the disk 43 and from this disk back to the battery as indicated by the arrows. The diagram shown in Fig. 11 illustrates by the arrows the direction of flow of the current just after the flag has been lowered.

The invention is susceptible of various changes in its form, proportions and minor details or construction and the right is herein reserved to make such changes as properly fall within the scope of the ap pended claims.

I claim 1. A flag raising and lowering mechanism embodying a drum having a flag halyard wound thereon in opposite directions, an electric motor connected to the drum for rotating the latter. a reversing switch included in the motor circuit for controlling the operation of said motor and the direction of movement of the flag halyard and a time controlled switch also included in the motor circuit for limiting the direction of rotation of the motor at each operation.

2. A flag raising and lowering mechanism embodying a drum having a flag halyard wound thereon in opposite directions and a flag secured to the halyard, an electric motor connected to the drum for rotating the latter, time controlled means for closing the circuit of the motor to raise and lower the flag at predetermined intervals and a reversing switch included in the motor circuit and automatically operated to reeach raising and lowering operation and moisture controlled means for lowering the flag and operating the reversing switch independent of the time controlled means.

i. A flag raising and lowering mechanism embodying a drum having a flag halyard wound thereon in opposite directions and a flag secured to the halyard, an electric motor connected to the drum for rotating the latter, time controlled means for closing the circuit of the motor to raise and lower the at predetermined intervals and a reversing switch included in the motor circuit and automatically operated to reverse the direction of rotation or" the motor between each. raising and lowering operation, a moisture controlled switch included in a circuit tapped on to the motor circuit for closing the latter independent of the time controlled means and a circuit breaking relay included in the moisture controlled switch circuit.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

FRANK ZIPOY. 

